# 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 20th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Bernie Bickerstaff returned for his second season as head coach of the franchise and, despite a modest improvement over their previous season's 31–51 record, managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in four games in the First Round, and then the Houston Rockets in six games in the Semi-finals, reaching the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept in four games to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The 39-43 Sonics remain the last team to date in the NBA to win a playoff series with a losing regular season record.
It is also their first year without team captain Jack Sikma as he was traded in the offseason.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 2 | 30 | Nate McMillan | SG / SF | United States | North Carolina State |
| 2 | 38 | Lemone Lampley | | United States | DePaul |
| 3 | 53 | Tod Murphy | PF / C | United States | UC Irvine |
| 4 | 76 | Michael Graham | | United States | Georgetown |
| 5 | 99 | Dominic Pressley | | United States | Boston College |
| 6 | 122 | Curtis Kitchen | PF | United States | South Florida |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – | 37–4 | 28–13 | 24–6 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 | 34–7 | 15–26 | 17–13 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 17–13 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 39 | 43 | .476 | 26 | 25–16 | 14–27 | 15–15 |
| Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 29 | 26–15 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 12 | 70 | .146 | 53 | 9–32 | 3–38 | 3–27 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – |
| 2 | y-Dallas Mavericks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 10 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 4 | x-Utah Jazz | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 |
| 5 | x-Golden State Warriors | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 7 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 39 | 43 | .476 | 26 |
| 8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 28 |
| 9 | Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 29 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | 28 | 54 | .341 | 37 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 12 | 70 | .146 | 53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1986-87 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MIL | NJN | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Boston | 3–3 | – | 6–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Chicago | 2–4 | 0–6 | – | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 |
| Cleveland | 2–4 | 2–3 | 1–5 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 |
| Dallas | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 4–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Denver | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | – | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 3–3 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Golden State | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 1–1 | – | 4–1 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 |
| Houston | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–4 | – | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Indiana | 3–3 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| L.A. Clippers | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 1–4 | 0–2 | – | 0–6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 |
| L.A. Lakers | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Milwaukee | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| New Jersey | 0–5 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | – | 5–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| New York | 1–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–5 | – | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| Philadelphia | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Phoenix | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 4–1 | 0–2 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | – | 3–2 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Sacramento | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | – | 3–3 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 1–1 |
| San Antonio | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–3 | – | 1–4 | 2–4 | 0–2 |
| Seattle | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 4–1 | – | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Utah | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 2–3 | – | 1–1 |
| Washington | 0–5 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |

### Game log

1986–87 game log :
October
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
1October 31vs Portland Trail Blazers110-127Tom Chambers (27)Memorial Coliseum 12,6661–0 :
November
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
2November 1Sacramento Kings103-114Xavier McDaniel (27)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,2962–0
3November 4Los Angeles Lakers110-96Tom Chambers (21)Seattle Center Coliseum 10,4262–1
4November 6Dallas Mavericks147-124Xavier McDaniel (28)Seattle Center Coliseum 8,3632–2
5November 8New York Knicks102-105Dale Ellis (29)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,2803–2
6November 11Philadelphia 76ers121-114Tom Chambers (33)Seattle Center Coliseum 12,6003–3
7November 12vs Los Angeles Lakers122-97Xavier McDaniel (17)The Forum 13,6943–4
8November 15vs Golden State Warriors121-127Tom Chambers (38)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,6554–4
9November 18Sacramento Kings105-119Dale Ellis (28)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,4115–4
10November 20Milwaukee Bucks116-105Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 8,7905–5
11November 22Indiana Pacers111-121Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,3996–5
12November 25Los Angeles Clippers103-113Dale Ellis (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 4,7027–5
13November 26vs Utah Jazz127-91Tom Chambers (22)Salt Palace 10,5127–6
14November 28vs Phoenix Suns104-117Dale Ellis (34)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,4628–6 :
December
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
15December 2Chicago Bulls115-109 (OT)Xavier McDaniel Tom Chambers (29)Seattle Center Coliseum 13,4388–7
16December 4vs San Antonio Spurs102-109Tom Chambers (36)HemisFair Arena 5,8939–7
17December 6vs Houston Rockets80-136Tom Chambers (29)The Summit 16,01610–7
18December 10vs Los Angeles Clippers101-94Tom Chambers (28)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 5,57310–8
19December 11San Antonio Spurs107-113Xavier McDaniel (33)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,05611–8
20December 13Dallas Mavericks126-109Tom Chambers Dale Ellis (24)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,78911–9
21December 16vs Portland Trail Blazers126-118Dale Ellis (34)Memorial Coliseum 12,66611–10
22December 18Houston Rockets100-114Dale Ellis (33)Seattle Center Coliseum 7,69612–10
23December 19vs Phoenix Suns106-108Dale Ellis (28)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,43313–10
24December 21Golden State Warriors121-112Tom Chambers (25)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,22813–11
25December 23Denver Nuggets116-127Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 7,45914–11
26December 26Los Angeles Clippers107-113Tom Chambers (27)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,35315–11
27December 28Portland Trail Blazers127-118Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,36515–12
28December 30Boston Celtics104-102Xavier McDaniel (25)Seattle Center Coliseum 14,60015–13 :
January
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
29January 2vs Dallas Mavericks117-107Dale Ellis (28)Reunion Arena 17,00715–14
30January 3vs Houston Rockets138-114Xavier McDaniel Dale Ellis (21)The Summit 16,01615–15
31January 6Phoenix Suns108-138Tom Chambers (29)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,76416–15
32January 8vs Golden State Warriors108-115Dale Ellis (35)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,79017–15
33January 11Utah Jazz111-127Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum 7,59418–15
34January 13vs Denver Nuggets117-109Tom Chambers (30)McNichols Sports Arena 8,98118–16
35January 14San Antonio Spurs104-130Dale Ellis (32)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,06819–16
36January 16Denver Nuggets100-134Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum 8,54420–16
37January 17vs Sacramento Kings125-115Xavier McDaniel (37)ARCO Arena (I) 10,33320–17
38January 21vs Philadelphia 76ers129-123 (OT)Dale Ellis (40)The Spectrum 11,89120–18
39January 23vs New Jersey Nets120-125Xavier McDaniel (32)Brendan Byrne Arena 9,18221–18
40January 24vs Atlanta Hawks97-87Dale Ellis (27)Omni Coliseum 13,84221–19
41January 26vs Utah Jazz95-108Dale Ellis (34)Salt Palace 12,21222–19
42January 28Los Angeles Lakers101-125Tom Chambers (37)Seattle Center Coliseum 14,63423–19
43January 30vs Golden State Warriors127-119Tom Chambers (36)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,27623–20
44January 31Phoenix Suns112-118 (OT)Dale Ellis (24)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,34424–20 :
February
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
45February 2New Jersey Nets100-108Xavier McDaniel (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,13225–20
46February 4vs Dallas Mavericks124-94Tom Chambers (19)Reunion Arena 17,00725–21
47February 5vs San Antonio Spurs117-111Xavier McDaniel (26)HemisFair Arena 7,54825–22
48February 10Atlanta Hawks125-113Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 12,00425–23
49February 12vs Milwaukee Bucks106-104Tom Chambers (32)MECCA Arena 11,05225–24
50February 13vs Chicago Bulls106-98Xavier McDaniel (27)Chicago Stadium 16,25125–25
51February 16vs Cleveland Cavaliers105-94Dale Ellis (17)Coliseum at Richfield 12,16325–26
52February 18vs Indiana Pacers105-88Dale Ellis (24)Market Square Arena 9,07725–27
53February 19vs Detroit Pistons117-105Dale Ellis (31)Pontiac Silverdome 14,48225–28
54February 21Washington Bullets93-110Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum 11,63726–28
55February 23Los Angeles Clippers112-124Dale Ellis (29)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,52827–28
56February 24vs Utah Jazz133-103Dale Ellis (26)Salt Palace 12,21227–29
57February 26Denver Nuggets100-106Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum 7,69128–29
58February 28vs Phoenix Suns105-112Dale Ellis (40)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,33829–29 :
March
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
59March 2Cleveland Cavaliers107-123Tom Chambers (36)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,48830–29
60March 4vs Los Angeles Lakers138-124Dale Ellis (32)The Forum 17,50530–30
61March 5Portland Trail Blazers122-127Dale Ellis (38)Seattle Center Coliseum 10,20531–30
62March 7Houston Rockets115-118Tom Chambers (29)Seattle Center Coliseum 14,47432–30
63March 10vs Houston Rockets127-136 (2OT)Tom Chambers (42)The Summit 16,27933–30
64March 11vs Dallas Mavericks130-117Tom Chambers Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (21)Reunion Arena 17,00733–31
65March 13vs Los Angeles Clippers108-104Tom Chambers (31)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 6,52233–32
66March 15vs Sacramento Kings107-106Dale Ellis (40)ARCO Arena (I) 10,33333–33
67March 16San Antonio Spurs111-122Dale Ellis (33)Seattle Center Coliseum 5,93434–33
68March 19vs Washington Bullets110-106Xavier McDaniel (20)Capital Centre 5,98734–34
69March 20vs Boston Celtics112-108Dale Ellis (31)Boston Garden 14,89034–35
70March 23vs New York Knicks121-126 (OT)Xavier McDaniel (40)Madison Square Garden (IV) 9,03835–35
71March 26vs Denver Nuggets123-113Xavier McDaniel (33)McNichols Sports Arena 10,18335–36
72March 27Golden State Warriors106-105Xavier McDaniel (31)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,09135–37
73March 29Detroit Pistons108-107Xavier McDaniel (27)Seattle Center Coliseum 8,71735–38
74March 31Sacramento Kings129-132Tom Chambers (36)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,09536–38 :
April
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecord
75April 2Los Angeles Lakers117-114Xavier McDaniel (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 14,73936–39
76April 4Portland Trail Blazers126-123Tom Chambers (34)Seattle Center Coliseum 12,22736–40
77April 7Phoenix Suns127-125 (OT)Dale Ellis (35)Seattle Center Coliseum 6,58536–41
78April 10vs Portland Trail Blazers121-115Tom Chambers (27)Memorial Coliseum 12,66636–42
79April 14Utah Jazz102-103Tom Chambers (30)Seattle Center Coliseum 7,17837–42
80April 16vs Los Angeles Clippers87-118Dale Ellis (41)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 6,51738–42
81April 18Golden State Warriors132-127Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum 9,42838–43
82April 19vs Los Angeles Lakers104-110Xavier McDaniel (39)The Forum 17,50539–43 :
1986–87 season schedule :
* Green background indicates win.
* Red background indicates loss.

## Playoffs

1987 playoff game log :
First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 23
@ Dallas
L 129–151
Tom Chambers (35)
Xavier McDaniel (13)
Xavier McDaniel (7)
Reunion Arena 17,007
0–1
2
April 25
@ Dallas
W 112–110
Dale Ellis (32)
Xavier McDaniel (9)
Nate McMillan (8)
Reunion Arena 17,007
1–1
3
April 28
Dallas
W 117–107
Dale Ellis (43)
Dale Ellis (14)
Nate McMillan (9)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,150
2–1
4
April 30
Dallas
W 124–98
Tom Chambers (31)
Chambers, Ellis (9)
Nate McMillan (9)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,150
3–1 :
Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 2
@ Houston
W 111–106 (OT)
Dale Ellis (34)
Tom Chambers (9)
Nate McMillan (8)
The Summit 16,279
1–0
2
May 5
@ Houston
W 99–97
Dale Ellis (30)
Dale Ellis (9)
Eddie Johnson (8)
The Summit 16,279
2–0
3
May 7
Houston
L 84–102
Tom Chambers (24)
Dale Ellis (10)
McMillan, Young (4)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,587
2–1
4
May 9
Houston
W 117–102
Tom Chambers (38)
Alton Lister (17)
Nate McMillan (10)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,559
3–1
5
May 12
@ Houston
L 107–112
Dale Ellis (27)
Tom Chambers (9)
Eddie Johnson (6)
The Summit 16,279
3–2
6
May 14
Houston
W 128–125 (2OT)
Tom Chambers (37)
Xavier McDaniel (12)
Nate McMillan (16)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,751
4–2 :
Conference finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 16
@ L.A. Lakers
L 82–87
Tom Chambers (28)
McDaniel, Lister (10)
Nate McMillan (8)
The Forum 17,505
0–1
2
May 19
@ L.A. Lakers
L 104–112
Dale Ellis (22)
Xavier McDaniel (8)
Nate McMillan (7)
The Forum 17,505
0–2
3
May 23
L.A. Lakers
L 121–122
Xavier McDaniel (42)
Xavier McDaniel (10)
Nate McMillan (15)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,657
0–3
4
May 25
L.A. Lakers
L 102–133
Tom Chambers (20)
Alton Lister (20)
Kevin Williams (5)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,477
0–4 :
1987 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Tom Chambers | 82 | 82 | 36.8 | .456 | .372 | .849 | 6.6 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .6 | 23.3 |
| Dale Ellis | 82 | 76 | 37.5 | .516 | .358 | .787 | 5.5 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .4 | 24.9 |
| Gerald Henderson | 6 | 6 | 25.8 | .500 | .000 | .944 | 1.5 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .0 | 11.2 |
| Clemon Johnson | 78 | 7 | 13.5 | .494 | .000 | .636 | 3.6 | .3 | .3 | .5 | 3.2 |
| Eddie Johnson | 24 | 0 | 21.2 | .457 | .333 | .764 | 1.9 | 4.8 | .5 | .0 | 9.0 |
| Curtis Kitchen | 6 | 0 | 5.2 | .500 | .000 | .750 | 1.5 | .2 | .3 | .5 | 1.5 |
| Alton Lister | 75 | 75 | 30.5 | .504 | .000 | .675 | 9.4 | 1.5 | .4 | 2.4 | 11.6 |
| Maurice Lucas | 63 | 0 | 17.8 | .451 | .000 | .802 | 4.9 | 1.0 | .5 | .3 | 7.9 |
| Xavier McDaniel | 82 | 82 | 37.0 | .509 | .214 | .696 | 8.6 | 2.5 | 1.4 | .6 | 23.0 |
| Nate McMillan | 71 | 50 | 27.8 | .475 | .000 | .617 | 4.7 | 8.2 | 1.8 | .6 | 5.3 |
| Mike Phelps | 60 | 6 | 7.8 | .426 | .100 | .705 | .8 | 1.1 | .4 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Russ Schoene | 63 | 0 | 9.2 | .374 | .154 | .630 | 1.9 | .4 | .3 | .2 | 2.7 |
| Terence Stansbury | 44 | 0 | 8.5 | .429 | .379 | .620 | .5 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Kevin Williams | 65 | 0 | 10.8 | .446 | .000 | .833 | 1.3 | 1.0 | .7 | .1 | 4.9 |
| Danny Young | 73 | 26 | 20.3 | .458 | .367 | .831 | 1.5 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .0 | 4.8 |
    1.^ Statistics with the SuperSonics.

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Tom Chambers | 14 | 35.6 | .449 | .353 | .808 | 6.4 | 2.3 | .9 | .9 | 23.0 |
| Dale Ellis | 14 | 37.9 | .487 | .361 | .815 | 6.4 | 2.6 | .7 | .4 | 25.2 |
| Clemon Johnson | 14 | 18.7 | .453 | .000 | .632 | 3.5 | .3 | 1.1 | .2 | 4.3 |
| Eddie Johnson | 14 | 12.9 | .534 | .400 | .867 | 1.0 | 3.2 | .6 | .0 | 6.4 |
| Curtis Kitchen | 8 | 12.9 | .500 | .000 | .000 | .8 | .0 | .0 | .4 | .3 |
| Alton Lister | 9 | 22.9 | .400 | .000 | .700 | 6.2 | .8 | .8 | 1.4 | 6.0 |
| Maurice Lucas | 14 | 18.9 | .389 | .000 | .737 | 4.6 | 1.4 | .9 | .4 | 7.0 |
| Xavier McDaniel | 14 | 37.7 | .488 | .200 | .607 | 8.4 | 3.0 | 1.5 | .6 | 20.3 |
| Nate McMillan | 14 | 25.4 | .435 | .000 | .708 | 3.9 | 8.0 | 1.0 | .7 | 5.1 |
| Russ Schoene | 14 | 8.8 | .357 | .333 | .750 | 1.9 | .2 | .1 | .3 | 2.2 |
| Kevin Williams | 14 | 18.2 | .479 | .000 | .750 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .1 | 8.6 |
| Danny Young | 14 | 14.9 | .404 | .313 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 1.1 | .0 | 4.1 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

* Dale Ellis won the Most Improved Player Award at the end of the season.
* Tom Chambers participated in the 1987 NBA All-Star Game and won the game's Most Valuable Player Award. He also was named Player of the Week between December 1 and December 7.

### Records
## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added Via draft Nate McMillan Curtis Kitchen Dominic Pressley Via free agency Kevin Williams Maurice Lucas Eddie Johnson Curtis Kitchen Via trade Alton Lister Dale Ellis Clemon Johnson Russ Schoene Terence Stansbury Ronnie Lester John Long | Players Lost Via free agency John Schweitz Frank Brickowski Via trade Jack Sikma Al Wood Tim McCormick Danny Vranes John Long Via waiver Dominic Pressley |

### Trades

| July 1, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsAlton ListerConditional 1987 and 1989 first-round picks | To Milwaukee BucksJack SikmaConditional 1987 and 1989 second round picks |
| July 23, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsDale Ellis | To Dallas MavericksAl Wood |
| September 29, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsClemon JohnsonConditional 1989 first-round pick | To Philadelphia 76ersTim McCormickDanny Vranes |
| September 30, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsJohn Long | To Detroit PistonsConditional 1987 and 1991 second round picks |
| October 2, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsRuss SchoeneTerence Stansbury | To Indiana PacersJohn LongConditional 1993 second round pick |
| October 2, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsRonnie Lester | To Los Angeles LakersCash considerations |
| November 12, 1986 | To Seattle SuperSonicsConditional 1987 first round and 1990 second round picks | To New York KnicksGerald HendersonConditional 1987 first-round pick |